Saginaw teen acquitted of shooting teen after alleged dispute about video game controller

SAGINAW — A Saginaw teen has avoided up to 17 years in prison after a jury acquitted him of shooting a 16-year-old after an alleged dispute about a video game controller.

The jury on Friday acquitted Keondre E. Solomon, 17, of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder and two firearm offenses in the Feb. 20 incident at 325 S. 13th in Saginaw.

Testimony showed that Solomon, who last lived at 2417 Narloch, borrowed a PlayStation 3 controller from the 16-year-old, who fathered a child with Solomon’s friend’s sister, testimony showed. The mother of the child then confronted Solomon about the controller days later, testimony showed.

Later, at the house on South 13th, the 16-year-old joined Solomon in a bedroom to smoke a cigar and watch television, testimony showed. Solomon angrily confronted the teen about having his child’s mother speak to him about the controller, and the teen argued back, testimony showed. Solomon then reached into a hooded sweatshirt on the top bunk of a bunk-bed in the bedroom, pulled out a gun, and shot the teen in the leg, testimony showed.

The teen did not immediately tell police his shooter was Solomon but did so two days after the incident. Solomon’s sister testified that he was with her on the time of the shooting.

Police arrested Solomon at a friend’s house that day and recovered the game controller, testimony showed.

Solomon at first requested a bench trial instead of a jury trial, but changed his mind when Saginaw County Circuit Judge James T. Borchard asked him whether he would rather have one person decide his fate or 12 of his peers.

After the jury acquitted Solomon, Borchard told him he made the right decision in choosing a jury trial, because the judge would have convicted him. The judge admonished Solomon and advised him to stay away from people with guns.

The assault charge that the jury acquitted Solomon of carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The jury also acquitted him of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent and possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, the latter of which carries a mandatory two-year sentence that Solomon would have had to serve before serving the longer sentence.